Surface condenser



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/ AT'Y Patented Dec. 1, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT orr cs.

PAUL A. BANGEL, OF NUTLEY, NEW JERSEY. ASSIGNOR TO INGERSOLL-RAND COM- DAM, 01? JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

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Original application filed October 15, 1924, Serial No. 743,695. nivided'and this 30, 1925. Serial No. 40,511. 3

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL 'A. BANonL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Nutley, county of Essex, and" State of New Jersey, have invented a certain Sur face Condenser, of which the following is a specification accompanied by drawings.

This invention relates to surface condensers and more particularly to that type of surface condenser comprising'surface cooler tubes extending longitudinally through a chamber across the path of-the steam flow.

This application is a division of copending application of Paul A. Bancel, Serial,

No, 743,695, filed October 15, 1924.

In single pass condensers having water tubes over which steam to be condensed passes or condensers so designed that all of the tubes passed over by the steam between the point of entrance of steam and the point of exit of non-condensable vapor and air" have water flowing the same direction, the tubes are cooler at the inlet portions than at their outlet because in passing through the tubes, the water is warmed from the heat absorbed, and in condensing the steam the water temperature rises progressively along the length of the tubes in the direction of water flow. The effect of this temperature condition is to decrease the capacity of the water to condense steam in sections of the condenser relatively remote from the water inlet. In condense-rs having two or more passes the conditions are identical if the flow is toward a central air outlet, or the same general effect is observed when the air outlet is at the end of the lower ass, for the reason that a greater part 0 the condensation takes place in the upper tubes and the lower tubes condense a relatively small quantity of steam, their purpose being rather to cool the mixture of uncondensable air and va or.

As steam is con ensed more rapidly in' the cool end of a single pass condenser than at the warm end, there must be a larger flow through that end than at thewarm end in order to supply sufiicient steam to the lowermost tubes. This would call for a. greater loss of pressure at one end of the condenser than at the other, which is ordinarily impossible since the whole lowermost section 1s in free communication with the vacuum pump withdrawing the unconthe outlet.

application filed June densable gases. Theresult in, an ordinarysingle pass condenser or any condenser to a greater or less extent 1s that steam does not come into contact with the lowermost portion the steam in the various parts of thecondenser so as to produce substantially the same depth of penetration throughout and to utilize the entire available cooling surface of the condenser. This object is accomplished in this instance by dividing the condenser into sections utilizing for this purpose partitions which ma be the usual tube supporting plates and t e steam passing into the condenser is directed toward cooler sections of the condenser by means of a bafiie and a valve adapted to throttle the passage of steam into the warmer end in order to increase the steampenetration at the cooler end.

The invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the accom anying drawing forming part of the specification into two sections and provided with a .valve or bafile to direct the flow of steam from the section which has the greatest steam condensing capacity.

Referring to the drawing, the condenser I consists of an outer shell A of the usual form having a steam inlet B and outlet C for the withdrawal of condensate and uncondensable gases. The shell A is preferably long and 1s traversed by a plurality of tubes D supplied with water from the water head a E dischar ing into a head F at theopposite end 0 the condenser. A tube support in the form of a drilled plate G divides the space within the shell A into-two compartments, one being comparatively cool as it includes that portion of the water tubes nearer the water head E, and a warmer compartment nearer the discharge head F containing water which has already absorbed heat in condensing steam.

The steam pressure is uniform everywhere in the inlet B. This pressure which is a partial vacuum is maintained by a suitable evacuating apparatus (not shown) which withdraws the condensate and uncondensable gases from the outlet C and produces also a uniform degree of vacuum in the casing A below the tubes D. In other words, it may be said that the same pressure drop exists across both compartments and therefore more steam cannot flow down to the same depth in the left hand as compared to the right hand as desired on account of the cooler water because this would necessitate unequal pressure drops. What happens therefore is a condition of equilibrium in which the steam penetrates only partly as far on the cool end, a greater steam velocity through fewer rows balancing lesser velocity through more rows. This results in a loss of efliciency because in that case some of the tubes in the cooler section will not function, the steam having been condensed before reaching them. To avoid this loss in efficiency, means is provided for direct ing an increased flow or passage of steam to that section in which the tendency of steam is to penetrate to a less depth on account of the greater heat absorbing capacity. To this end there is provided a plate H extending upwardly toward the warm end of the condenser, which is arranged to direct the greater part of the steam from the inlet B toward the cooler end of the condenser. Additionally, a valve J may be provided to reduce the amount of steam entering the warm section. By a proper adjustment of the valve J, the flow of steam'may be apportioned to the-various sections of the the condenser into warm and cool sections and a. valve at the inlet -to the warmer section for directing an I increased fiow or passage ofsteam to the cooler section.

2. A condenser having tubes with differ ent temperatures along their length resulting in unequal capacities for condensing steam in vertical sections along their length,

and means for directing an increased flow or passage of steam to those vertical sections in which the tendency of the steam is'to penetrate to a less depth on account of the greater heat absorbing capacity in their section including .a partition separating two such sections and a valve to direct the steam toward one of said sections.

3. A cbndenser having tubes with different temperatures along their length resulting in unequal capacities for condensing steam in vertical sections along their length, and means including a partition and a valve cooperative therewith to apportion the flow of steam to the various sections in proportion to their thermal ca acity.

In testimony whereo specification.

PAUL A. BANCEL.

I have signed this 

